Walmart busted for changing ‘Best By’ dates on donuts

Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.

My parents didn’t run a very austere household. Though my brother and I did chores—picking up sticks, mowing the law, taking out the garbage, etc.—our home wasn’t exactly governed by an iron fist. Our most routine job, for example, was “making” the bed—placed in quotes because the task required simply throwing a comforter over the ill-wadded masses of sheets and pillows that generally compiled our respective bunks. Out of sight, out of mind.

Walmart seems to share a similar mantra, but not in its home or bedding department. Rather, in its bakery. A Reddit user shared these photos of the store’s freshly baked donuts at a Lawrenceburg, Ky., location; they’re clearly marked with a “Best By” label of April 2. Yet, upon further analysis, you can see that a couple of additional labels are affixed underneath.

After investigating this further, the probing Redditor exposed past label dates of April 1 and Mar. 31. According to BuzzFeed, the photos were also posted to the retailer’s Facebook page, but were deleted both times. I don’t know what’s worse: selling old donuts or the fact that Walmart didn’t even bother to famously roll back prices.

Speaking of Reddit, Digiday shared 15 facts about the user-generated content site that all brands, including Walmart, should probably know.

We should also know not to give our telephone number to strangers, let alone on live TV. “Today” host Kathie Lee did one better, accidentally sharing that of her daughter Cassidy’s while taking a call from her during Monday’s show:

No wonder robots might soon replace news anchors. According to U.S. News and World Report, that’s the direction we could be heading thanks to a new startup called Guide.

A robot of sorts is helping The New York Times mark April as National Poetry Month with its new blog, Times Haiku. Lauren Hockenson of 10,000 Words explains that the blog is actually a bot, combing through the Times’ articles from the day and assembling them in standard five-seven-five syllable packages.

Mashable reports the Times also unveiled a new ad on its site by Life insurance company Prudential, which prompts visitors to see the front page of the Gray Lady on their birthday.

Pizza Hut is giving birth to a novel food creation—“cheesy pockets” pizza known as Crazy Cheesy Crust. The Inquisitr claims the new product will put to shame its stuffed crust predecessors.

In honor of the occasion, Esquire provided a timeline dating back to 1958 on the history of Pizza Hut’s gorged upon “lunacy.”

Instead of getting crafty with its crust, Pizza Hut Canada enlisted an artist’s help to live-draw fan requests on its pizza boxes: (via AgencySpy)

Colorado-based restaurant Illegal Pete’s is also enlisting some help. For Autism Awareness Month, the eatery is asking customers to aid in its second annual “Smother Autism” campaign. According to The Huffington Post, the effort raises funds for The Joshua School, a non-profit treatment center for kids living with the disorder. A donation of $1 is made every time someone smothers their burrito at each of Illegal Pete’s locations.

Diners are apparently up in arms in Philly, where community fixture “Chink’s Steaks” has changed its name from that of a common racial slur to “Joe’s Steaks and Soda Shop.” Residents aren’t happy about it. The Philadelphia Inquirer has the scoop.

The topic of race also landed Slate writer Simon Doonan in hot water after he posted what was supposed to be a nostalgic piece titled “Bring Back the Afro.” According to Jezebel’s Dodai Stewart, Doonan, who is white, ignores the fact that the Afro never went away and reduces the symbolism behind it to that of any other hairdo.

The Afro didn’t go away, but “Mad Men” sure did. Fortunately, the AMC drama is back this Sunday with its season six premiere. In the meantime, Business Insider is drawing clues as to what new photos from the two-hour episode might reveal about the show’s plotline.

For more on the subject, read a review by The Daily Beast’s Jace Lacob, who received an advance copy of the “Mad Men” opener.

Perhaps you prefer the British sophistication of “Downton Abbey,” which according to the Examiner, teaches PR professionals greats ways to amp up clients’ social media campaigns.

It should also please you to hear that Salon says American television audiences are in for an even greater invasion from our friends across the pond with the recent return of “Doctor Who.”

Is there something you think we should include in our next edition of #TheDailySpin? Tweet me @iquotesometimes with your suggestions. Thanks in advance.